Ex-priest accused of abusing female members of 'cult' church group found guilty of 17 indecent assaults
A former priest who was accused of abusing 11 female members of the church group he led has been found guilty of 17 counts of indecent assault.
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Chris Brain, 68, was head of the Nine O'Clock Service (NOS), a youth-oriented alternative church that was an influential evangelical movement based in Sheffield in the 1980s and 1990s.
Brain, of Wilmslow, Cheshire, has been found guilty of the charges after a trial at Inner London Crown Court.
He was found not guilty of 15 more charges of indecent assault.
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Jurors are still deliberating on a further four counts of indecent assault and one rape charge.
In total, he was facing 37 charges relating to 13 women. He denies all charges.
Brain was wearing a black suit and black tie, and showed no emotion as the verdict was delivered.
The NOS was part of the Church of England, and Brain led it between 1986 and 1995. Prosecutors previously told jurors that the group was aimed at younger people and "presented itself to the outside world as a progressive force for good".
Prosecutors alleged the NOS became a cult where Brain abused his position to sexually assault a "staggering number" of women followers, exerting control over their lives and ostracising them from friends and family.
Inner London Crown Court previously heard that a "homebase team" - referred to as "the Lycra Lovelies" or "the Lycra Nuns" - was set up to "care for" Brain, with witnesses reporting seeing the defendant surrounded by attractive women in lingerie at his home looking after his needs.
Brain told jurors earlier this month that this was "completely untrue".
Previously, jurors were played a recorded police interview with one complainant, who described being “trapped” in a controlling relationship with Brain after joining the NOS community in the late 1980s.
Prosecutor Tim Clark KC previously gave an overview of the alleged offences, relaying accounts from complainants who made various claims - including that Brain groomed them, would touch them during massages and re-enacted a film scene involving rape or sexual abuse over clothes.
Brain told jurors that some massages, intended to be for "tensions" on his body, could evolve into "sensual touching", which he said was between friends and "no big deal".
He denied touching anyone's breasts during massages while a part of NOS in Sheffield but admitted doing so after his involvement.
Brain claimed this was consensual and not forced.
Brain also rejected testimonies from alleged victims that he had tried to control people by making them wear the same clothing or lose weight, or that he discouraged them from maintaining friendships.
Asked if he tried to start a cult, Brain said he did not, adding that those involved were "completely anti-cult".
Jurors will return to court at 10am on Thursday to continue deliberations.
